Convert length and distance units — meters, feet, inches, kilometers, miles, light years and more.
| Unit | Name | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 0.001 km | 0.0497097 chain | |
| 0.01 km | 0.497097 chain | |
| 0.1 km | 4.97097 chain | |
| 1 km | 49.7097 chain | |
| 5 km | 248.548 chain | |
| 10 km | 497.097 chain | |
| 50 km | 2485.48 chain | |
| 100 km | 4970.97 chain | |
| 1000 km | 49709.7 chain |
Multiply the number of Kilometers by 49.7097 to get Chains. Formula: chain = km × 49.7097. Example: 10 km × 49.7097 = 497.097 chain. To reverse, divide Chains by 49.7097 to get Kilometers.
| Kilometer (km) | Chain (chain) |
|---|---|
| 0.001 km | 0.0497097 chain |
| 0.01 km | 0.497097 chain |
| 0.1 km | 4.97097 chain |
| 0.5 km | 24.8548 chain |
| 1 km | 49.7097 chain |
| 2 km | 99.4194 chain |
| 5 km | 248.548 chain |
| 10 km | 497.097 chain |
| 20 km | 994.194 chain |
| 50 km | 2485.48 chain |
| 100 km | 4970.97 chain |
| 250 km | 12427.4 chain |
| 500 km | 24854.8 chain |
| 1000 km | 49709.7 chain |
| 10000 km | 497097 chain |
To convert Kilometer to Chain, multiply by 49.7097. Example: 10 km = 497.097 chain
To convert Chain back to Kilometer, divide by 49.7097 (multiply by 0.0201168). Use the swap button above.
Start with 100 Kilometers = 4970.97 chain as your reference point. Scale up or down from there.
Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa are converting historic chain-based land records to kilometres for national cadastral databases. Land registries and surveying firms convert km back to chains when verifying historic boundary descriptions.
British railways officially measure track distances in miles and chains. European interoperability projects convert kilometre-based European rail standards to chains for interface with the UK national rail network.
Geographic information system specialists migrating legacy chain-based cadastral databases to metric coordinate systems convert kilometre boundaries back to chains when producing hybrid documents for legal transition.
Conservation bodies managing historic English farmland convert modern kilometre-based site assessments to chains when referencing original estate maps and tenancy records expressed in chains and furlongs.
Historians and geographers studying historic land use convert modern kilometre-based survey data to chains for comparison with 18th and 19th century enclosure maps and tithe surveys in Commonwealth archives.
Heritage organisations managing historic drove roads and footpaths originally surveyed in chains convert modern kilometre-based route descriptions to chains for historically accurate interpretation panels and guidebooks.
The Kilometer is a unit of Length measurement (symbol: km). 1 km = 49.7097 chain. Used in scientific and practical Length measurement applications.
The Chain is a unit of Length measurement (symbol: chain). It is part of an internationally recognised measurement system used alongside the Kilometer.
The kilometre was introduced in 1795 as part of the French metric system — exactly 1,000 metres. France was the first country to adopt a universal decimal measurement system, replacing a chaotic patchwork of regional units. The metre itself was defined as one ten-millionth of the distance from the North Pole to the equator through Paris. By the 20th century, the kilometre had become the world's standard unit for road distances, replacing miles in country after country. The US remains the only major exception, still officially using miles for road distances.
Edmund Gunter invented the surveyor's chain in 1620. His design — 100 links totalling exactly 66 feet — was brilliantly chosen: 10 chains × 10 chains = 1 acre, making area calculation trivially simple. 80 chains = 1 mile, 10 chains = 1 furlong. The chain became the standard survey unit across the British Empire and is written into American law — the US Public Land Survey System still divides land using chains and links.
Common use: Kilometer to Chain conversion is needed when working with international standards, scientific publications, or reference materials that use different unit systems for Length measurement.